Channel flap turning and pressing machine



Feb. 5, 19 35. I J RAY 1,989,882

CHANNEL FLAP TURNING AND PRES SING MACHINE 7 Filed Jan. 6, 1953" Patented Feb. 5, 1935 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

oHANNEL FLAP TURNING AND PRESSING Y MACHINE Eugene J. Ray, Beverly, Mass assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 6, 1933, Serial N6. 650,486

18 Claims. (CI. 12-17) This invention relates to channeling machines operated to turn and press a freshly formed D for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes tion of the channel flap. and consists in improved mechanism for turning In incorporating the channel flap turning and and pressing the channel flap as it is produced, pressing tool in the organization of a rounding 5, so that in the sole as taken from the machine and channeling machine, I have found that the the channel is entirely unobstructed and the flap rounding knife or its carrier may be advantalocated properly for a subsequent sole-stitching geously utilizedas actuating means for moving the operation. My invention thus renders available flap tu g and Dressing E001 and a mechanism an improved machine for forming the channel, thus organized consequently constitutes anotheropening it and properly positioning the channel feature of my invention. 10 flap by a series of closely related and cooperat T Se and Oth features of the invention w l ing steps effected by a unitary mechanism and be best understood and appreciated from the folrequiring no more skill or effort on the part of the lowing description of an embodiment thereof, operator than he has been obliged to expend hereselected for purposes of illustration and shown tofore in carrying out the channeling operation in the .accompanying drawing, in Which l5 alone under conditions which require a distinct 1 is a VieWin Side elevation of a rounding operation for opening the channel and turning and channeling machine including my invention the channel flap. and showing a portion of a shoe, partly in see- My invention is herein shown'as embodied in tion, in operative position; t a machine for rounding and channeling the out- Fig. 2 is a similar view in front elevation show- 20 soles of Welt shoes after the sole has been ating the outline of the sole in dash lines; tached in a preliminary manner to the shoe bot- Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in side elevation tom. In one aspect my invention comprises the of parts shown in Fig. 2 as seen from the right combination of means for rounding and channelof the machine;

ing the sole in one operation, together'with means Fig. 4 is a View in perspective of the cap plate 25 for raising the channel flap as it is formed and and channelknife; and turning it back against the tread face of the sole. Fig. 5 is a View in perspective illustrating the In another aspect my invention comprises an imaction of the tools in forming a channel and .opproved channel flap turning mechanism of aconcrating upon the channel flap. r

struction adapting it to be incorporated. with The invention is herein illustrated asembodied 30 channel-cutting mechanism wherever located and in a rounding and channeling machine of the operating independently or in association with type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. mechanism for performing othershoemaking op- 1,030,606, granted June 25, 1912 on an applica-' erations upon the-sole.v 1 tion of Perry and reference may behad to My invention is characterized by certain novel that patent for details of construction not herein 35 mechanical features wherebyl am' enabled to 'inillustrated. The accompanying drawing showscorporate a channel flap turning and pressing only so much of that machine as is necessary totool in a channeling machine having cooperating a complete understanding of the present inven sole gripping and "feeding members which act tion.

intermittently to advance the operating point in In the machineshowninthe drawing, the head 40 the sole progressively through the machine. In frame 10 is provided with a detachable, horizona machine organized in this manner, the channeltally-disposed bed plate 12'having ways in which cutting operation maytake place duringthe movea knife-carrying slide 14 is mounted to reciproment of the work-feeding members relatively to cate; A rounding knife '16 is detachably-clamped the sole while the latter is held stationary, and inthe slide 14 and cuts against an anvil plate'18, 45 between each of such movements the sole is enof soft metal, which is inserted in the inner face gaged and advanced while held by the feeding of a removable feed plate 20 detachablyseoured members. I have discovered that a particularly to an arm or head 22 extending downwardly from compact and effective mechanical construction a horizontal'shaft 24 journaled in the frame 10.

results from mounting the flap turning and press- The shaft 24 is oscillated and reciprocated to ing tool for bodily movement with one of these impart a' four-motion feeding movement to the sole feeding members. In such construction, the plate 20. The rounding knife slide 14 carries tool is retracted to an inoperative position while also a blade or sticker point 17 which acts to hold the channel knife is operative, and then during the sole stationary against the thrust of the chanthe forward feeding step of the sole the tool is nel knife, as will be presently explained. The 5' guide 26.

inner face of the feed plate 20 is corrugated beneath the anvil plate 18 for better engagement with the welt in feeding the work.

A combined work support and crease guide 26 of loop or U-shaped contour embraces the arm 22 and feed plate 20 with sufficient clearance for their feeding oscillation. This member is secured upon opposite sides to the forward end of a forked arm 28, pivoted to the head frame and held yieldingly in its uppermost position, corresponding to minimum width of trimmed edge. The arm 28 with the guide 26 may be adjusted downwardly to increase the width of the trimmed edge. the work vertically by running in the rand crease and also to support it against outward displacement when the welt is not actively engaged by the feed plate 20.

The sole supporting and channeling mechanism as well as the channel fiap turning tool of my invention are mounted upon an oscillating carrier 30 supported in the head frame 10 beneath the rounding knife slide 14. The carrier 30 is provided with a forked sole rest 32 having upwardlyextending arms which are pivotally supported upon a transverse stud 34 extending through the upper part of the carrier. The arms of the sole rest are transversely slotted and may be secured in the desired position of angular adjustment by clamping screws 36 which extend through the slots and are threaded into the opposite sides of the carrier 30. The sole rest 32 has a transverselyextending convex web portion 33 which engages the tread face of the sole presented to the machine and by adjusting the support in or out the angular position of the sole is determined.

The carrier 30 is provided in its upper outer face with segmental undercut ways in which is mounted a sector-shaped block comprising a sole support 38, a cap plate 40 and a channel knife 42. The block in its entirety is free for limited oscillatory movement to accommodate itself to the sole presented to it at an angle determined by the sole rest 33 and the work support and crease The sole support comprises rather more than half the thickness of the assembled block and is provided with an undercut groove, oppositely disposed with respect to a similar groove in the cap plate 40, for rigidly clamping the shank of the channel knife 42. The latter has a straight shank and a curved blade 43 extending at an angle of slightly less than with its shank. 'The channel knife is normally adjusted so that its blade 43 extends beyond the sole-engaging face of the sole'support by approximately the thickness of the channel flap which it is desired to cut. The cap plate 40 is provided with a dowel 44 which is received in a corresponding hole in the face of the sole support 38 and with a threaded hole 46 to receive the end of a clamping screw 4'7 by which the sole support,cap plate and channel knife are held in assembled position;

The cap plate is also provided with a recess having a plow-shaped or spiral surface 48 which is arranged in substantial registration with the inner face of the channel knife blade 43 and serves to lift the channel flap after it has been cut and immediately as it leaves the channel knife. The sole support 38 is provided with a groove 39 in its outer curved face with which cooperates a spring-pressedpin 50 designed to limit the oscillation of the sole support within a suitable working range.

With the exception of the cap plate, the parts described hithertomay correspond substantially The function of this member 26 is to gauge to those disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,030,606 and, in order that the mechanism of my invention may be more readily understood, it will be convenient now to describe the usual operation of these parts in rounding and channeling, preparatory to stitching, the sole of a welt shoe temporarily secured to the shoe bottom.

In the accompanying drawing the toe portion 90 of a welt shoe is shown in Fig. 1, the outsole 92 and welt 94 being in section at the working point. In Fig. 2 the outsole 92 is shown in contour and a chip 96 is indicated as being removed in the rounding operation. In Fig. 1 the rounding knife 16 is in its forward position, having passed through the outsole 92 and engaged the anvil plate 18. The sole is thus held in a stationary position by the rounding knife 16 and its sticker point 17-. While the sole is thus held, the carrier 30 is oscillated toward the right, as seen in Fig. 2, and the channel knife makes its operative stroke informing a portion of the channel 93. At the end of the cutting movement of the channel knife blade 43, the rounding knife 16 is retracted and the feed plate 20, which has been occupying an intermediate position, is moved slightly to the right into alignment with the sole support 38 which, in the previous movement of the channel knife, has been moved to its extreme right-hand position, as seen in Fig.

2. The feed plate 20 is now moved inwardly and a the sole support moved outwardly so that the interposed sole is firmly gripped between them. The shaft 24 and the carrier 30 are then oscillated toward the left, carrying the work with them and effecting the feed thereof. The feeding pressure of the feed plate and sole support is then released by a slight separating movement of these two elements and the feed plate is moved toward the right to its intermediate position, with the anvil plate 18 located in registration with the rounding knife 16 in readiness for a repetition of the cycle.

Proceeding now with the description of the mechanism of my invention, it will be noted first that the channel flap, as it is progressively formed by the movement toward the right of the channel knife blade 43 (Fig. 2), passes across the plowshaped surface 48 of the cap plate 40 and is thereby lifted slightly from the plane of the tread face of the sole 92. The flap turning or pressing tool herein illustrated is arranged to engage the channel flap progressively as it passes beyond the rear edge of the plow-shaped surface 48 of the cap plate and to turn it back upon the surface of the sole and press or iron it in place. This action is well illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein the turning and pressing tool 52 is shown upon the channel flap in the position which it occupies at the end of its operating stroke.

The turning and pressing tool 52 is in the formof a lever arranged to swing upon the transverse stud 34 in the carrier 30, the axis of oscillation being substantially at right angles to that of said carrier. It is initially substantially opposite the channel 93 and spaced from the sole so that it in no way interferes with the movement of the sole support toward the right relative to-the sole in the channel cutting operation. As already stated, that portion of the channel flap which passes beyond the plowshaped surface 48 of the cap plate 40 is positioned to receive the action of the end face of the turning and pressing tool 52 when the latter is swung downwardly and forwardly, as will presently appear. The end or flap-engaging face of the tool 52 is disposed somewhat obliquely "so that it tends to clear the turned and pressed flap at once in its reverse movement. 1

The rear arm 54 of the turning and pressing tool 52 includes asplit-clamp 56 by whichit may be adjustably secured to a sleeve formed integral with the tool, journaled upon thest'ud 34 and furnishings. bearing for the assembled tool. By changing the angle of the clamp about the stud, the normal position of the tool 52 may be varied. At its rear end the arm 54 carries a ball stud 58 which serves as one element of a ball and socket connection with the lower end of a link 60, connected through a second ball and socket joint 62 to an arm '64 projecting downwardly from the rounding knife slide 14. It will thus be seen that when the knife slide 14 isretracted from the position shown in Fig. 1 after it has made its cutting stroke, the tool 52 will be swung in a clockwise direction and its forward face will engage the already lifted channel flap 95, swinging it downwardly, wiping it over upon the tread face of the sole and pressing it in that position, as shown in Fig. 5. The retraction of the rounding knife 16 occurs during the feeding i mit relative transverse movement of the tool and rounding knife without in any way interfering with the actuating connection between the two through the medium of the link '60.

The end face of the tool 52 does not pass beyond the free edge of the flap 95 in reaching its final position but, as shown in Fig. 5, remains engaged with its fiat out-turned face; consequently, in the reverse movement of the tool 52 there is no tendency to catch and displace the turned flap. Atthe conclusion of the feeding step, the work support is slightly retracted in releasing its feeding grip upon the sole and, as a result of this movement, the pressure of the tool 52 upon the work is relaxed. The tool is swung reversely back to its initial position during the return movement of the work support 38 and simultaneously with the advancing movement of the rounding knife mechanism.

In Fig. 1, the tool 52 is shown in full lines in its initial or inoperative position and in dash lines in its advanced or flat pressing position. The corresponding positions of the rounding knife slide are also indicated in full and in dash lines, respectively.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the sole is advanced intermittently through the machine, being rounded and simultaneously channeled as the point of operation upon the sole is progressively advanced. In each return movement of the oscillating carrier 30 a portion of the flap 95 is out, lifted by its passage across the plow surface 48 and brought into Then, duringv the field of action of the tool 52. each forward feeding step, that particular por tion of the flap is turned downwardly, folded over upon the surface of the sole and pressed or ironed in place.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

'2. In a rounding and channeling machine, the

combination with the rounding and channeling means, of a plow for raising the flap of the channel as the channel is being formed, an oscillatory tool for pressing the flap against the face of the sole, and means for oscillating the tool into and out of engagement with the flap.

3. In a-chan'neling machine, in combination,

means for feeding and guiding a sole, cutting mechanism for forming a channel and a channel flap in the sole, means for turning the channel flap, and a member mounted to oscillate about an axis spaced from the work for pressing the turned channel'fiap against the face of the sole.

4. In a channeling machine, in combination, means for feeding and guiding a sole, a carrier mounted to oscillate inthe direction of feed of the sole, means on the carrier for forming a channel and for turning back the channel flap, and a tool mounted on said carrier to oscillate relatively to the carrier for pressing the turned channel flap against the face of the sole.

5. In a rounding and channeling machine, in combination, a work support arranged to en gage the tread face of the sole of ashoe to oscillate in the direction of extension of said sole, means constructed and arranged to cooperate with said work support to clamp the sole and feed the shoe, means mounted on said work support for forming a channel, means carried by the work support for raising the channel flap thus formed, and a tool mounted on said work support for pressing against the tread face of the sole, the flap turned by the raising tool.

6. In a rounding and channeling machine, in combination, an oscillatory sole support arranged to engage'the bottom of a sole of a shoe, meanscooperatingwith said work support to feed the shoe, a knife for trimming the margin of the sole, a reciprocatory carrier for said knife, means on said sole support for forming a channel in the bottom of the sole and for raising the channel flap, an oscillatory tool 'for pressing the channel flap against the face of the sole, and connections between said reciprocatory knife carrier and said oscillatory tool for actuating the latter.

7. In a rounding and channeling machine, the combination with the rounding and channeling means, of a plow for raising the flap of the channel as the channel is being formed, and a tool movable inwardly from the edge of the sole and toward the face of the sole for turning the channel flap and then outwardly toward the sole edge and away from the face of the sole to clear the turned channel flap upon its return stroke;

8. In a channeling machine, the combination with means for feeding and guiding a sole, of a channel knife constructed and arranged to form a channel of predetermined width in the sole, means for lifting the channel flap as formed, and a tool mounted to oscillate transversely of the channel flap and across the same to a point short of the free edge of the flap. 7

9. In a channeling machine, the combination with means for intermittently gripping and feeding a'sole step by step, of a channel knife operating to form a channel in the sole, and a flap turning and pressing tool carried bysaid feeding means and operated during the feeding movement thereof to turn and press the channel flap against the face of the sole.

10. In a channeling machine, the combination with sole-feeding means including a sole support for intermittently gripping and feeding a sole, of a channel knife carried by the sole support and operating during the return movement of the sole support to form a channel in the sole, and a flap turning tool carried with the sole support and arranged to be moved transversely of the flap during the feeding movement of the sole support with the sole.

11. In a channeling machine, cooperating soleengaging members adapted to grip the welted edge of a sole between them and movable simultaneously to advance it step by step, one of said members carrying a channel knife arranged to cut during the return movement of the member with which it is associated, and an oscillatory flap-turning tool movable transversely of the channel flap during the forward feeding movement of said sole-engaging member.

12. In a rounding and channeling machine, rounding knife mechanism movable substantially at right angles to the face of a shoe presented to the machine, sole-engaging and feeding members movable to and froin the direction of extension of the sole, a flap-turning tool mounted to oscillate on one of said members, and operating connections for the flap-turning tool actuated by the movement of said rounding knife mechanism.

13. In a channeling machine, cooperating soleengaging members adapted to grip the edge of a sole between them and advance it intermittently, a channel knife carried by one of said members, an oscillatory flap-turning tool mounted on one of said members and arranged to occupy a position spaced from the sole during the return movement of said member, actuating mechanism for said tool, and provision for adjusting the normal position thereof.

14. In a channeling machine, a segmental block mounted for rocking movement and comprising a sole-supporting member, a cap plate and a channel knife arranged to be clamped between the two and having a cutting blade located beyond the face of the sole-supporting member, the cap plate having a plow surface located adjacent to said blade and arranged to lift the flap cut by the channel knife, and a pressing member situated at one extremity of the plow surface and movable into engagement with the lifted flap.

15. A machine for channeling a sole and turning the channel flap, having oppositely-arranged sole-gripping and feeding members movable to engage and disengage the sole, a channel knife mounted in one of said members, and an oscillatory flap-turning tool also mounted on said member and operating to turn and press the channel flap while the sole is engaged by said member and being bodily retracted to relax its pressure on the turned flap when said membe is retracted.

16. A machine for channeling a sole and turning the channel flap, having a vibratory feed plate for engaging one side of the sole, an oscillatory carrier having a sole-feeding member cooperating therewith, a channel knife associated with said sole-feeding member, and a flap-turning and pressing tool pivotally mounted upon oscillatory carrier to swing in a path at one side of said sole-feeding member about an axis disposed substantially at right angles to that of said oscillatory carrier.

17. In a channeling machine, av movable work feeding member, a channel knife cooperating therewith, a channel flap pressing member movable upon the feeding member, and means for moving the pressing member upon the feeding member to force back the channel flap.

18. In a rounding and channeling machine, a movable rounding knife, a channeling knife, a movable channel flap pressing member, and connections for transmitting the movement of the rounding knife to the pressing member to cause said member to force back the channel flap.

EUGENE J. RAY. 

